Product description

HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH. It's a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

Author information

Markus Zusak, a prize-winning author, lives in Sydney with his wife and daughter. The Doubleday hardback of The Book Thief , published at the beginning of January 07, stayed in the top ten of the Sunday Times bestsellers for nine weeks. It was published to critical acclaim in Australia and in America where it reached No. 1 on the The New York Times bestsellers list. Film rights have been optioned by the makers of The Devil Wears Prada. Find out more by visiting the website - thebookthief.com

Customer reviews

I have read some of the other reviews, and i just couldn't understand why some people don't like this book. And if i might add too, 55 year olds cannot judge books, even if their reading because their reading styles are way out of date. I'm 12, and let me assure you, I've read more books than a lifetime. In fact, i started reading Harry Potter when i was 5.
So, let me tell you, this book is DEFINETLY worth reading.

This is one of my very favourite books!
I can't understand anyone saying it is boring or badly written.
It is a different style of writing, but it doesn't take long to get into the flow of that style and it is anything but boring.
It is a beautiful story with it's beginnings stemming from the experiences of the authors parents.
It is sometimes very sad, but never depressing.
I have bought this book for many people and recommended it to many more. No one has ever been disappointed!

At the age of 55 I find myself writing my very first book review.
I began to read this book six or seven years ago while on a two week holiday. I think I finished it some two months later. I have read thousands of books and invariably have finished any that were started, point being that this book was really, really boring. If you like a good story with good prose do not read this book.
Redemptive qualities, if any, related to the author's descriptive powers on the imaginations of a young girl.
Do not judge this book by it's somewhat exciting cover of a dancing skeleton.
I only write because I have again happened upon this book by chance and seeing so many 4 & 5 star reviews decided to speak up and tell the truth (as to it's rating) as I see it.
Jimbo

I love this book, this is such a marvelous story told from a interesting point of view, the setting is so well articulated I felt as though I was there. Marvelous lovable characters, truly a classic, book is 100% better than the movie, the movie does not do it justice.

Lovely book! I shouldn't have seen the movie before reading it. It's definately my favorite. Its plot is extremely well-written.

Review quote

"Extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry." -- Lisa Hilton Sunday Telegraph "...a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling...Unsettling, thought-provoking, life affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told. It is an important piece of work, but also a wonderful page-turner." Guardian "A moving work which will make many eyes brim." -- Marianne Brace Independent on Sunday "This is a weighty novel worthy of universal acclaim. A sense of dread prevades this beautifully written novel. As The Book Thief draws to a close, Death says: "There's a multitude of stories that i allow to distract me as I work." The story of the Book Thief, who tried to change the world in her own small way, proves one formidable and inspiring distraction." -- Lianne Kolirin The Daily Express "Brilliant and hugely ambitious ... the kind of book that could be life-changing" New York Times Book Review